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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: can · fall · rush · wound · key · tube · bat · clip

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. rush — hurry
  3. wound — an injury
  4. key — for a lock
  5. clip — to cut
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. wound — an injury
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. clip — for paper
  10. can — to be able to
  11. can — a tin
  12. key — the most important part
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. can — a tin
  15. fall — to drop
  16. key — in music
  17. tube — the underground
  18. fall — to drop
  19. bat — the animal
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. fall — the season
  22. tube — a container
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. rush — to hurry

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com